Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway

Conception and Early Development

Although calls for the creation of an expressway system that would stretch from the Philippine Capital of Manila all the way to Rosario, the southernmost town of the province of La Union, had been raised even before the turn of the millennium, these calls first actually began to bear concrete fruit in the mid-2000s.

In 2005, construction began on the Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), creating a linked expressway system which reached all the way to Tarlac City, Tarlac - an improvement over the North Luzon Expressway's terminus which reached only up to Mabalacat, Pampanga.

In 2006, Congressional representatives from Northern Luzon took advantage of the final reading of House Bill 5749 to lobby for a project that would extend the expressway system to Rosario, as a means to boost trade, tourism, and speed up transportation in the provinces of Tarlac, Eastern Pangasinan, and La Union. As a result of this lobbying, the Arroyo administration announced in October 2006 a ten-year period in which the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) would be extended from Mabalacat, Pampanga to Rosario, La Union and the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) would be extended from Calamba, Laguna to Lucena City in Quezon and eventually up to Matnog, Sorsogon.

In 2008, the SCTEx was formally opened, setting the stage for the development of the TPLEx, which would extend beyond the SCTEx' terminus in Tarlac City.

The initial plan for the construction of the TPLEx was that it would be carried out in two phases: The first phase would involve the construction of two lanes while the second phase entailed its expansion into four lanes to accommodate 25,000 vehicles.

The proposed superhighway would be built parallel to MacArthur Highway, passing through the city of Tarlac and the municipalities of La Paz, Gerona, Victoria, Pura, Anao and Ramos in Tarlac, Nampicuan and Cuyapo in Nueva Ecija and Rosales, Villasis, Urdaneta, Binalonan, Pozorrubio and Sison in Pangasinan, and Rosario, La Union.

The financing, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the Tarlac-La Union Toll Expressway Phase 1 was eventually awarded to Private Infra Development Corporation (PIDC)

Project Financing

Three local banks undertook the financing of the TPLEX: BDO Unibank, Development Bank of the Philippines, and Land Bank of the Philippines. This made TPLEX notable in the Infrastructure and Development Financing industry "the first Public-Private Partnership project in the Philippines to feature an all-domestic cast of sponsors and lenders.” London-based Project Finance Magazine named the TPLEX as its "Asia Pacific Transport Deal of the Year" for 2011.

The project is being implemented through public-private partnership using the Build–operate–transfer (BOT) scheme in which the project proponent is responsible for the design, financing, and construction of the initial two-lane expressway.

As each section of the toll road is completed, it is turned over to the government. The government then grants the proponent the franchise to operate and maintain the toll road, after which the proponent, after a certificate to commence toll operation issued by the Toll Regulatory Board, operates the road on behalf of the government under a long term concession agreement.

Land acquisition

A contributor to delays in the early development of the TPLEX was the acquisition of the Right of Way for the project. With the TPLEX identified as a high priority government project, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was given the task of acquiring the Right of Way for the project's proposed alignment, and was allocated P793 million in the hope that the process could be expedited. However, numerous legal disputes regarding affected properties, notably in the Tarlac segment of the project, meant delays in the negotiation process being undertaken by the DPWH.

Alignment of Rosario Interchange

There was also some controversy when a proposal in congress was brought up to change the alignment of the project to change the location of the final interchange in Rosario, La Union.

Construction of Phase 1 (Tarlac City to Rosales)

The first phase of the Tarlac-La Union Toll Expressway started in January, 2010.

In April 2013, San Miguel Corporation announced that the segment from Tarlac City up to Urdaneta will be built with four lanes, instead of the initial plan of two lanes only. However, this also pushed back the opening day of the expressway from June 2013 to November 2013.

Tarlac City - Pura Segment Opening

On October 25, 2013, the Toll Regulatory Board authorized the issuance of the Toll Operation Permit for the Tarlac City - Pura segment of the TPLEX after the construction of that segment was completed by Private Infra Dev Corp. (PIDC), the all-Filipino consortium backed by conglomerates San Miguel Corp. (SMC) and DMCI Holdings Inc.

This first phase, referred to as Section 1A, begins with a connection to SCTEX, then stretches 17 kilometres (11 miles) from Tarlac City to Victoria, and then to Pura, Tarlac. It is expected to cut current travel time to Baguio by as much as 40 minutes.

Pura - Ramos Segment Opening

On December 23, 2013, The expressway opens up to Ramos, Tarlac bringing TPLEX up to 23 kilometres (14 mi) of its operational length.

Ramos - Carmen/Rosales Segment Opening

On April 16, 2014, Phase 1 of the project was completed when the Rosales section was opened in time for the Lenten traffic and it is the halfway to go to Baguio.

Carmen - Urdaneta Segment Opening

In December 2014, Section 2 of the project, covering 13.72 km from Carmen to Urdaneta, was opened to traffic, as had PIDC president Mark Dumol had announced on the day the completion of Phase 1 was announced.

Construction of Phase 3 (Urdaneta to Rosario)

In the December 2014 announcement for the opening of Phase 2, Dumol also projected that the last section, covering 25.83 km from Urdaneta to Rosario and including an exit in Pozorrubio, would be completed some time in 2015. However, there were delays in the implementation of the project, which included a highly disputed proposal to divert the exit 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) away to San Fabian in Pangasinan.

The DPWH and the PIDC announced in July 2015 that they will continue to follow the original plan for the last phase exiting in Rosario, adding that this last phase would be completed by the following year, 2016.

This development phase was further subdivided into Phase 3A, from (Urdaneta to Pozorrubio), and Phase 3B, (Pozorrubio to Rosario). Section 31 would include trumpet-type interchanges at Binalonan and Pozorrubio, while section 3B would end at a roundabout-style interchange in Rosario La Union.

After the opening of the exit at Binalonan in September 2016, the DPWH said segment 3B from Pozorrubio to Rosario is expected to be completed in April 2018.

Urdaneta to Binalonan segment opening

By mid-August 2016, the first exit of section 3A, at Binalonan, Pangasinan, had been opened to the driving public. Notably, this created easy access to the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag, located only 10 minutes away from the new Binalonan exit plaza.

Binalonan to Pozorrubio segment status

In September 2016 The DPWH said the second exit of section 3A, which covers the 7.53-km from Binalonan to Pozorrubio, was expected to open in December 2016. However, this had not been opened as of December 31, 2016.

Extension to Laoag

On June 11, 2013, at the Annual Stockholders Meeting of San Miguel Corporation, its Chairman, Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. revealed plans of extending the expressway north to Laoag, Ilocos Norte. He said that the extension of the toll will road business to Laoag has been raised during the Arroyo administration.

Technical specifications

Toll

For full list of toll:Toll Regulatory Board (TPLEX Toll Rate)

Features

Special features of the expressway will include:

Current Exits

Exits are numbered by kilometer post, with Rizal Park in Manila designated as Kilometer 0. Exits start at 228 because the SCTEX is connected with TPLEX. Thus, the last exit of SCTEX will be succeeded by an exit in TPLEX.